Artemis Fowl and the Marauders
by Siri's Cajun Mistress
Summary: Post-TLC.Opal Kaboi has teamed up with Voldemort and now Artemis and Holly have to team up with the Marauders to stop them,but with a love struck James and a secretive Jessica Hawkins, will they be able to do it?
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not on the Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter series. They belong to J.K.R. and Eion Colfer, I'm just dabbling a bit.**

* * *

Artemis stopped what he was doing-finger painting on the floor with the twins-and got to his feet when Butler entered the room saying,

"Artemis, there's someone here to see you about the letter you received this morning."

Artemis looked around for something to wipe the paint from his hands. Butler handed him a towel, fighting back a grin. His young charge was changing. Artemis handed the towel back to him, then followed him to the entrance hall. As soon as he opened the door he froze, there was an eccentrically dressed woman and four children about Artemis' age, three boys and a girl. Artemis studied them closely, one of the boys was rather shabby-looking, but had a huge grin on his face as he interacted with the others, one of them had jet-black hair and wearing spectacles, the third boy had shoulder length black hair and had a jaded look about him. The girl had long, blonde hair and a broad smile on her face, and, despite their teasing, she seemed to be the only one who was truly at ease.

The girl, the bespectacled boy, and the shabby-looking boy were playing keep away with the third boy, who was trying to get what looked like a stick out of the air as the other three threw it back and forth between themselves. They stopped their antics and the boy got his stick back when they caught sight of Artemis. The girl smiled warmly, then snapped her fingers in the old woman's face to get her attention. She seemed to have been staring at Butler in shock, which was understandable, of course. She snapped out of her trance and gave the girl a sheepish look before clearing her throat and asking,

"You are Artemis Fowl?"

Artemis inclined his head,

"I am, and this is my bodyguard, Butler. What are your names?" the question was directed at the woman, but the girl answered,

"She's Professor McGonagall, I'm Jessica Hawkins and these three," she said with a flourish of her hand, "are James Potter," the bespectacled boy, "Remus Lupin," the shabby boy, "and Sirius Black, who thinks all jokes concerning his name are hilarious." She finished, she spoke with a slight accent that he couldn't quite place, it was definately American, he just couldn't tell which part. McGonagall cleared her throat again impatiently. Jessica smiled apologetically,

"Sorry, Professor."

McGonagall gave her a look of fond exasperation,

"It's fine, I suppose, but you must let me explain, Miss Hawkins."

Jessica grinned,

"Yes, Professor." She went to stand quietly beside the boys, who were trying to snicker silently. McGonagall turned her attention back to Artemis,

"You're fifteen years of age?"

Artemis nodded again, then turned slightly and muttered to Butler,

"I need you to do something with the twins while I lead our guests to the drawing room."

Butler nodded and left to put Myles and Beckett down for a nap. Sirius chose that moment to finally say something,

"Twins? What twins?"

Artemis smiled his vampire smile,

"My younger brothers, Myles and Beckett. Now, if you'd please follow me…" he trailed off and left the room. McGonagall and the others followed him to the drawing room, which was now, thankfully, twin –free. Artemis gestured for them to sit and the four teenagers took the couch, leaving Artemis and McGonagall to take the two chairs. Artemis looked at McGonagall expectantly and she began to explain,

"I'm assuming you got your letter." A brief pause and another nod, "Mr. Fowl, you see, yours is a very unique case, usually wizards start developing magic at the age of seven are excepted into Hogwarts at eleven, no one has ever developed magic this late. Do you have any idea what might have caused this?"

Artemis smiled again and shook his head,

"No, Professor, I do not. All I know is that it started approximately five months ago."

"I see…. Well, Mr. Fowl, you have two options, you can go in as a first year at the beginning of the school year, or, these four can tutor you and bring you up to scratch and you can go in as a fifth year with the rest of the children your age."

"The second option is preferable."

Sirius interrupted,

"Could you please talk like a normal person?"

"Sirius!" Jessica admonished. He gave her an innocent look,

"What? I'm just saying… does he have to talk like my parents?"

She rolled her eyes,

"I hear no pureblood mania, Padfoot."

Artemis arched a questioning brow,

"Pureblood?"

Jessica gave him a lopsided grin,

"Yeah, I'll explain during your History of Magic lessons. I'll be teaching you that and Care of Magical Creatures. Remus'll be teaching you Arithmacy and Charms. Sirius'll take care of defense against the Dark Arts and Astronomy, and James'll tackle Transfiguration and Potions. Professor, I think it would be best just to Sort him here, then say he's been abroad for the past four years. Artemis, what do you think?"

"Sorting?"

She smiled again,

"Yeah, there are four Houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. I'll just give you the short description for now. We'll go more in-depth during your lessons. Or you could just read _Hogwarts: A History_. Gryffindor is the 'brave and true', Ravenclaw is for the brainiacs, Hufflepuff is the 'just and loyal', and the Slytherins have gone and made a bad reputation for themselves by producing more Dark wizards than any other House. To be Sorted all you have to do is put on the Hat and wait until it tells you what house you should be in. Do you want to do it here, or wait until you get to Hogwarts?"

"Here would be preferable."

Jessica looked at McGonagall expectantly and she sighed,

"Very well, Mr. Fowl," She pulled a tattered old hat out of her robes and handed it to him, "put this on."

Artemis took the hat wearily and glanced at Jess, who nodded encouraging nod. Reluctantly, he put the hat on his head. His eyes widened as the Hat began to speak in his head,

_Well, well, this_ is _difficult. You're very intelligent, also brave. Fiercely loyal…. My, my, you are going to be hard to place. Had you put me on when you were eleven, I would have placed you in Slytherin, but now… no, that won't do. You wouldn't fit in Hufflepuff, you like to cheat too much… hmm… what to do, what to do…. Well I suppose… better be…._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The last word that surely would wake the twins from their nap. Artemis winced and Jessica chuckled gently,

"Don't worry, I put a charm on the room to keep anyone outside the room from hearing anything." She cocked her head to one side and studied him for a moment, then said, "Artemis, would you rather get your school things today, or would you rather wait until tomorrow? The sooner you get them the sooner we can begin your lessons."

" Today would be more prudent. Where are you from?" Artemis asked unexpectedly. Jessica stared at him in shock for a moment, then laughed and said,

"Alabama. We moved here because mom thought it was a good idea," she rolled her eyes, as if this were absolutely ridiculous, "meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in an hour. It's in London and you have to go to Charring Cross Road. You'll be the only one able to see it, so don't bring any muggles."

"Muggles?"

"Non-magic folk. I'll explain more in your lessons."

"Very well, I shall meet you there. Is there anything further to discuss?"

McGonagall and the five wizards got to their feet,

"No, I'll be seeing you and Miss Hawkins in an hour then." Artemis nodded again and showed them out shutting the door behind them. He pulled out his fairy communicator and said in a low voice,

"I hope you got all of that, Foaly."

Below ground, the centaur chuckled,

"We got it, Artemis."

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**A/N: PleaseR&R. This is my first fanfic and I want to know what I need to fix. I know the writing is a bit stiff, but I'm hoping to fix that next chapter. Please don't sue me if it's horrible.**


	2. Chapter 2: Diago Alley

"So, you have to teach a fifteen year old first year magic?" Lily asked as she Jessica sat in her bedroom trying to finish their History of Magic essays. Jessica snorted,

"Yeah, and I find it highly ironic that I can't finish this essay, yet I have to teach this subject to the smartest kid in Europe. How d'you think that'll work out Lils?"

Lily laughed,

"You have the highest grade in our year in HoM. What's he like, anyway?"

Jessica gave her friend a thoughtful look,

"I'm not exactly sure how to answer your question. He was extremely… formal, emotionless. He asked a lot of questions, but he didn't really seem all that curious and…. I think he's hiding something. Also, he has this _huge_ bodyguard! He's almost as big as Hagrid! I swear, I'm not kidding! Stop laughing- it's true! He's about seven feet tall and as big as a mountain! And he carries a gun at all times, he doesn't trust us at all!"

Lily fell off the bed laughing and clutching her side. Jessica glared at her for a moment before she laughed too. Her laughter abruptly stopped when the phone rang and Lily's mother called up the stairs a few seconds later,

"Jessie, your father's on the phone."

Jessie winced and said,

"I'll be down in a second, Mrs. Evans."

"Alright, dear."

Jessie jumped off the bed and ran downstairs, knowing that it was a bad idea to keep her father waiting. Mrs. Evans handed her the phone when she got to the bottom of the stairs. She put the phone to her ear and said,

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Are you staying at that boy's house while you tutor him?" he snapped. She started shaking her head in denial; even though she knew he couldn't see her,

"No."

"Good." Her father's voice warmed, which scared her more than when he sounded mad. She knew what he was thinking before he said it,

"I want you to come home."

"I can't, Dad."

"Why not?" he sounded angry again. She took a deep breath and bit her lip,

"I already told my friends and Professor McGonagall that I would be staying with Lily the whole summer."

"Fine, but you'll have to come home for a week in August."

"Yes, Dad. I'll see you in August."

"See you in August, baby."

Jessie winced again and hung up the phone. She ran back up the stairs, trying to control her shaking. She stopped at the top of the stairs and took another deep breath. She stood on the stairs for several seconds trying o regain her composer before going back in the room with Lily. She jumped when she heard a quiet voice say in her ear,

"You OK, Hawkins?"

She turned quickly on the stairs, almost falling down the stairs. Sirius caught her and pulled her onto the landing, he gave her a worried look,

"What's wrong with you, Jess?"

She shook her head,

"Nothing, Sirius, I'm fine –what are you doing here anyway?"

"We've got a minute left until we have to go meet Fowl, I thought I'd come get you. I Flooed and came upstairs, but Evans said you were on the fone. Whatever that is."

Jess burst out laughing, momentarily forgetting her fear, saying,

"C'mon, Sirius, let's go meet Fowl."

She poked her head inside Lily's room and said,

"I'll be back later; I've got to take Artemis shopping!"

"Bye."

She grinned, grabbed Sirius' wrist, and drug him downstairs. She stopped dead when she saw Lily's sister, Petunia, sifting the Floo powder nervously through her hands.

"Evans!" she snapped angrily, which proved to be the wrong thing to do because Petunia promptly dropped the powder, spilling it all over the floor. Jessica snapped something in Latin and the mess cleaned itself up, the powder going back into the bowl. She moved quickly across the room and picked it up, putting it back on the mantle. Then she turned on Lily's sister with a snarl,

"Didn't I tell you to leave that alone?"

Petunia shrank back, then she came to herself and sneered,

"It's in my house, _freak_, I can look at it if I want."

Jess rolled her eyes,

"No, you can't. You're a _muggle_, you don't know how to use it. Why were you even touching it?" she shook her head, "Ya know what? Never mind, I don't wanna know. C'mon, Sirius, we've gotta go meet Artemis."

"Everything will be fine, Holly, relax." Artemis assured his invisible friend.

"Who's Holly, Fowl?" asked a deep, suspicious voice behind him. For the first time in his life, Artemis Fowl started in surprise. He regained his composure quickly though and turned to find himself face-to-face with Sirius Black. Jessica stood a few feet behind him, giving him a strained, apologetic smile. He frowned,

"Are you well?"

Her eyes crinkled in amusement for a moment and she nodded,

"I'm fine, Artemis. Do you have a phone with you?"

He nodded,

"Why?"

"Can I borrow it for a second? I need to call my dad. I'll give it right back and won't do anything else with it, I swear. Please?"

Reluctantly, Artemis handed her his phone and she smiled gratefully before heading out the door. A few minutes later, she came back in looking disgusted,

"Right, lady and gents, slight change of plans, we'll be meeting McGonagall in front of Gringotts instead, come on. Oh, and Holly, would you please make yourself visible? I know Artemis wasn't on a phone in this place."

Stunned, Holly unshielded and glared at her,

"How did you know I was here, human?"

Jessica cocked a brow and scoffed,

"Come _on_, Holly. You can't use technology in a magical dwelling – the magic cancels it out. And I seriously doubt the smartest person in Europe was talking to himself. And thanks for letting me borrow your phone."

Artemis inclined his head in acknowledgement. Sirius frowned at her,

"Why are we meeting her at Gringotts?"

"Lucius is coming and I'd rather avoid him if you don't mind."

"There's a blonde Mud Boy coming towards us." Holly said, interrupting them. Jess cursed and turned around, plastering a smile on her face,

"Hello, Lucius." She said as he neared them. The Lucius smirked,

"Hawkins, I heard about your father –"

What exactly he'd heard about her father, none of the others found out, because at that moment, Jess's hand shot out and grabbed him tight about the throat, cutting off the airflow. Her smile turned menacing and she hissed in his ear,

"You ever tell anyone the rest of that sentence, Malfoy, and I'll kill you. That is something I want no one else knowing. Am I understood?" she waited until he nodded to release him and take a step back. She gave him a disgusted glare and turned on her heel, leaving the pub. The others followed and Artemis watched as she taped the bricks that opened the wall to Diagon Alley. As soon as the opening in the wall was wide enough for them to go through, she walked briskly into the alley. Sirius walked closely behind her,

"Jess, how did Malfoy find out about your father?"

"The hell if I know." She snarled, "But I have no intention of letting anyone else knowing. C'mon, we've got to get to Gringotts."

They walked to the bank in silence and stood in front of it, the others watching Jess pace restlessly while they waited for McGonagall. Jess jumped when someone grabbed her arm and said mildly,

"Waiting for someone?"

She turned towards whoever it was and scolded,

"Remus, you scared me!"

He grinned mischievously,

"Sorry, Jess. McGonagall couldn't come, so she sent me instead."

Jess rolled her eyes and grinned,

"Figures, well, come on then, let's go in."

"Let the other three go ahead, I need to talk to you about something."

Her brow furrowed in concern and she nodded,

"Alright. Guys, go in, we'll catch up in a minute."

They went inside the bank and Jess asked,

"Is something wrong?"

Remus smirked at her,

"Does something have to be wrong for me to want to talk to you?"

She blushed,

"Sorry, what did you want to talk about?"

He pulled her closer and lowered his head, she thought he was going to whisper whatever it was in her ear, so when he kissed her instead, she was surprised. When he finally pulled back, she gasped,

"Remus, that wasn't talking."

He laughed and kissed her again,

"I didn't think Sirius would leave if I had said I wanted to snog you."

She giggled at that,

"I suppose not, but you know I don't like surprises."

The smirk was back,

"Sorry, I'll warn the next time I plan to kiss you."

She smiled,

"Alright, now let's go in. We've got to get Artemis some money."

He looked at her in surprise,

"That's it? No yelling that I'm an idiot for thinking you would let me do that again?"

She rolled her eyes,

"I'm not like those idiots in Slytherin, I've never judged you for what you are , Remus." She said quietly, feeling hurt that he would think that she would treat him that way. He gave her an apologetic look,

"Sorry, Jess, it's just…. I was expecting you to turn me away."

"Why would I do that?" she asked, puzzled now. He grinned,

"I thought you and Sirus were –"

"Good God, no!" she interrupted laughing, "Don't get me wrong, I love Sirius like a brother, but no."

He laughed with her, feeling relieved,

"Let's go in."

She grinned and grabbed his hand, leading him into the bank. Sirius stared as they neared them and Jess said to the goblin at the front desk,

"We wish to make an exchange."

"How much?"

She looked at Artemis, who handed her a stack of bills, which she handed to the goblin saying,

"All of this."

"Amount of currency?"

"A little bit of everything, but make it as evenly numbered as possible, please, Bulrog."

The goblin smirked,

"Of course, Miss Hawkins."

Sirius and Remus both snorted as the Goblin walked off. She turned towards them with her eyebrows raised,

"Something funny, boys?" she asked lightly. Remus shook his head, trying not to laugh, Sirius laughed anyway,

"Why does everything have to be even with you, Jess?"

She stuck her tongue out at him,

"I've told you, I'm OCD."

"Are you really or do you just feel that you are?" Artemis interjected. Jess laughed,

"It's just a feeling, but it's a strong one. I just have strong obsessions with certain things. Oh, thank you, Bulrog."

She took the leather pouch filled with coins and led everyone back into the street. She opened the bag and pulled out three coins, a gold one, a silver one, and a bronze one. She held up the gold one,

"This is a galleon, it has the highest value of the three coins we use for money. This," she held up the silver coin, "is a sickle, it's second to the galleon. There are 27 sickles to a galleon. The final one is the knut," she held up the bronze coin, "there are 19 knuts to a sickle. Now come on, we've got to go get your stuff. But first," she said with a smile, "I want to show you the new technology shop we got a couple of years ago."

"I thought you said magic cancels out the technology."

"Normally it does, but the woman who owns the shop, Bethany something…. Remus?"

"Merand." He said absently. He was looking at something ahead of them, something that was too far ahead for the rest of them to see. Jess frowned at him,

"Is something wrong?"

He gave her a strained grin,

"Only if you think the Lestrange brothers, Nott, and Goyle could be potentially problematic."

"Are they in front of the shop?"

"Yes."

Jess sighed,

"Hopefully we'll be able to get past them without a duel. It's been too long since I've last seen Merv and Scant."

Holly snapped to attention,

"Jessica, what does Bethany look like?"

Jess thought about it for a minute before saying,

"Short… blonde… bit of a big head, I don't mean she's conceited or anything… well she is, but I meant the actual size of her head… exceptionally pretty… don't you think Remus?"

Remus shrugged and answered without thinking,

"I suppose, I've only seen her a couple of times."

Jess hid a smile at that and said,

"Why, does she sound familiar?"

"Do Merv and Scant constantly compliment her sounding as if they fear for their lives?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, we know her."

Jess's eyes widened in surprise as she realized exactly what Holly was and said,

"LEP."

Holly looked at her sharply,

"How do you know that term?"

"Merv and Scant." She answered in gnomish. Artemis and Holly stared then Artemis asked,

"Merv and Scant taught you gnomish?"

She nodded,

"C'mon, let's go, you two can explain later."

She led the way to the technology shop. She sighed when she saw the Lestranges and said in a wary voice,

"Hello, Rudolf, would you please be so kind as to let us pass?"

Rudolf sneered,

"What would you be doing in there? You can't afford any of it."

"No, but I like talking to the clerks. Now would you please let us pass?"

He stepped aside and the look on his face suddenly reminded Jess of her father. She fought a wince and walked past him, but Lestrange couldn't let it go without a passing comment,

"Be careful, mudblood, it's dangerous for your kind to be walking the streets."

Sirius and Remus reached for their wands, but Jess said in a tired voice,

"Let it go, guys, they're not worth the pain in the ass it would cause to explain the duel, just leave it."

They put their wands away and followed her into the store. Immediately, two short men were in front of Jess, greeting her animatedly,

"Jess, it's been awhile. Did you ever get a chance to –"

"Guys!" she interrupted them, her face flaming, knowing what they were about to say. They looked behind her and saw Remus, they grinned,

"Oh, we didn't realize you had him with you. But answer the question."

She nodded, still blushing furiously and the two of them laughed until they caught sight of Holly and paled. Jess looked behind her at Holly and said levelly,

"Don't worry guys, Holly isn't going to do anything, she's just here to look at the shop. Put the weapon away, Holly, or I _will_ jinx you. They are my friends and I will not see them harmed or arrested. Am I understood?"

Holly nodded and reluctantly put her weapon back in her belt. Jess grabbed something randomly off a shelf and asked,

"Merv, how much does this cost?"

He gave her an apologetic look,

"The lowest I can charge for it is twenty galleons twelve sickles."

Jess dug in her robes until she found her money. She pulled out the correct amount and handed it to him with a small smile,

"Thanks, Merv. How's Bethany treating you?"

Merv and Scant grimaced and she understood completely.

"I'm sorry, wish I could help."

Scant laughed,

"She would probably kill you if you tried."

Jess shrugged,

"Better than living with my father."

Merv, Scant, Sirius, and Remus all four went very red in the face, making Artemis and Holly confused,

"Why would you prefer to die than live with your father?" Holly asked. Jess gave her a wan smile,

"He's a pain in my ass to put it simply."

"He's an asshole."

Jess laughed,

"Yeah, Merv, he is. We've got to get going, we're shopping today and I've only got an hour before I have to go see him for the night, so we'll have to leave now."

Remus gave an inhuman snarl,

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I was trying not to think about it. Now can we please leave? The longer I keep him waiting the longer he keeps me tomorrow."

The four men all looked pissed, but let the matter drop. Jess smiled at the twins, then turned and lead the way to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. An hour later, Jess bid, Artemis, Holly, and Sirius good-bye, then turned to Remus to say that she'd see him tomorrow, but he didn't give her a chance. He caught her in a possessive embrace, angry that he couldn't protect her from this. When he finally broke the kiss, she managed a breathless,

"I'll be fine, baby. Don't worry about me. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

He snarled in anger, but nodded,

"Fine, but go straight to Madam Pomfrey when he lets you go. Promise me."

"I will. I'll be fine, Moony. Now go home and rest. The full moon is in three days. Save your strength."

He sighed,

"Fine. I'll see you in the morning."

He kissed her again, more gently this time, then turned on his heel and left. Jess sighed too and Flooed to her father's, dreading the night to come.


	3. Chapter 3: Breakfast and Death Eaters

Butler paused outside the drawing room and took his Sig Sauer from its holster as he listened to the voices of two intruders,

"Did you go to Pomfrey before you went back to Lily's?"

"Yes, Moony, I told you not to worry about me. I forgot to tell Artemis to meet us in here didn't I?"

Remus laughed,

"Yeah, love, you did."

Butler opened the door, weapon pointed straight at Jess, which caused Remus to move to stand protectively in front of her. Jess put her arms around her boyfriend's waist and said to Butler,

"Would you please put that away? We're not here to hurt anyone, just to teach."

Butler put his gun back in its holster and Jess let go of Remus, who sat down on the couch and pulled her down with him saying,

"You need to rest, you can barely stand."

Jess waved away his worry,

"I've just got to wait for the blood to go back to my legs, I'm fine. Why don't you relax? Did you get the plants in the green house?"

Remus laughed,

"Yes, love, I got the plants in the green house, I think we should warn the muggles about the Venomous Ventacula, though."

"Yeah, probably. Why are you still glaring at Butler?"

"He pointed a gun at you."

"He didn't know it was me."

He growled at her,

"It doesn't matter, I'm a werewolf, Jess, I have a wolf's instincts and you are mine. I will literally kill to protect you."

She sighed,

"Well, he didn't shoot me, so it's a moot point, now let it go. Butler, put that away, I don't want to have to jinx you."

"He just said –"

"I am well aware of what he said and I know what he is, but unless he's in wolf form, he's harmless. Put your gun away and show me where the kitchen is, I'm starving."

Remus frowned at her,

"Why didn't you eat before we came here?"

"Because I felt sick this morning."

"How bad was it?"

She shrugged,

"No worse than usual, now come on. I'll cook breakfast for everyone."

"It's not your job to cook here; you're just supposed to teach Master Artemis." Butler objected.

Jess rolled her eyes,

"You can watch me make the food, Butler; I have no intention of poisoning you."

"I don't think that's what he meant, love."

She rolled her eyes again,

"Well, I'm about to eat their food, so I might as well cook for everyone. Butler where's the kitchen?"

"You're not cooking."

"Then it looks like I'm not eating today. That's fine; I'm used to not eating. Remus, did you eat at home?"

"Yes, _Mum_."

Jess made a face at him,

"That's just disgusting, not to mention incest."

Remus laughed,

"Stop acting like my mum, then."

She stuck her tongue out at him and demanded,

"Where's the kitchen?"

Butler sighed,

"Follow me."

Jess grinned,

"See? Life is so much easier when you just give me what I want."

Butler and Remus both laughed as the three of them walked to the kitchen. When they got in the kitchen, Jess found everything quickly and had breakfast cooked within an hour. As soon as it was done, the Fowls all stumbled into the kitchen, then froze when they saw Jess.

"Butler," a tall man who looked a lot like Artemis said tersely, "who is this?"

Jess grinned hugely and held out her hand,

"I'm Jess, one of Artemis's tutors."

"If you're a tutor, then why are you cooking?"

"Because I felt like it. Now are you going to complain, or are you going to eat it? Butler watched me like a hawk while I made it. I didn't poison it. Eat or let it get cold, your choice, but I'm eating."

She fixed herself a plate and ate quickly, then waved her wand and let her dishes wash themselves. The muggles watched this in amazement until she laughed and said,

"Are you going to eat or should I just vanish the food?"

Artemis Jr. spoke,

"I think we should eat. Then Jessica can explain why she's here so early."

Jess laughed,

"I meant to tell you to meet me in your drawing room at nine, but I forgot. I think we need to discuss adding defense, and I don't just mean the actual class that you get graded on, to your studies. You need to know how to defend yourself during an attack, which is highly likely once the wizarding world finds out that not only are you a muggleborn, but you didn't come into you magic until you were fifteen. Also I need to talk to you about something else in private, alright?"

Artemis nodded and Jess fixed everyone a plate with a flick of her wand. Everyone ate and she stood in the corner, watching them. She talked quietly to Remus,

"You don't think they could get past Dumbledore's wards, do you?" she whispered. Remus shook his head,

"Not unless someone invites them in or tells them where to find him. Though why He'd want Fowl I don't know, him being for the whole 'blood purity' thing."

"Yeah, but if he could get Artemis on his side, he might actually stand a chance of winning this war. The boy is a genius."

"You really think he could help?"

"I know he can, but we've got to talk to that centaur he told us about yesterday. He's got to be the only one I've ever heard of that has a sense of humor, and working with you lot, he's going to need it."

Remus laughed, drawing everyone's attention to the werewolf. Jess grinned,

"Just talking about our friends."

"Potter and Black?" Artemis asked. Jess nodded, making a face,

"Yeah, by the way, this may be a bit delayed, but please don't call me Jessica. I really can't stand formality. Drives me batty."

Remus laughed again,

"You're already batty, love."

Jess laughed with him,

"Okay, Mr. Specifics, it drives me even more batty. Better?"

Remus grinned,

"Much. Though Padfoot would probably take the mickey."

She rolled her eyes,

"Padfoot takes the mickey out of everything."

"True."

Butler and the Fowls stared at them until Jess said,

"It's rude to stare. Mind telling me why you are?"

They all flushed, which was a first for all of them, and looked down at their plates. Remus snorted,

"I thought you were supposed to be the one who had tact."

Jess raised a brow,

"Tact? _Moi_? Who on earth told you that, Moony? I have no tact. It's one of the things me and Padfoot have in common."

"And Prongs." Remus added. Jess nodded seriously,

"Yeah, you're right, can't forget about Prongs, can we."

"No, he won't let us."

She laughed again,

"Absolutely not. Especially not a certain Miss Lily Evans."

"Definitely not her."

"I've a question about our dear Prongsie."

"What?"

"Is he really that daft or is he just acting?"

Remus burst out laughing,

"He's not acting."

Jess chuckled,

"Moony, my love, I think we're confusing the muggles."

"You're confusing me as well."

Jess grinned at Artemis Jr.,

"Yeah, but you'll all understand as soon as James and Sirius get here tomorrow. Oh, and don't be surprised if someone is sent along to watch them. They tend to act like utter morons. And you'll understand the rest of it when we get to Hogwarts. Explaining James and Lily just gives me a headache, so I'm not even gonna try. It gives Moony a worse headache than the one I get, so he probably won't tell you either. Ask Sirius tomorrow."

The Fowls and Butler stared at her until she raised a questioning brow, causing them all to look away. They finished eating and Jess did the dishes, vanishing the food and demanding Artemis take her somewhere the three of them could talk in private. He led her and Remus to his study and she shut and locked the door behind Butler. Then took out her wand and muttered,

"_Muffliato._"

Artemis watched her wearily as she grinned at him,

"I need to talk to your fairy friends, quickly."

"Why?"

Her grin disappeared and Artemis found himself suddenly apprehensive. Remus, however, was the one who answered,

"We think your friend Opal has teamed up with Voldemort." They had swapped stories the day before and both groups now knew everything about the other. Including the fairies. Artemis frowned,

"What would give you that impression?"

Jess rolled her eyes,

"We told that yesterday, Arty. Don't you remember the Death Eaters we ran into outside her store? Well we found one of his more renowned followers in there last night and heard them discussing a way to breach Hogwarts. They've been trying to do this for months, but with Opal's help, we think that they might actually succeed this time. So we need to talk to Holly or Trouble or whoever is in charge down there, because if they actually win, everyone is screwed, be they muggle, wizard, or fairy. Gots it, honey?"

Butler fought back a laugh at the stunned look on his young employer's face. He doubted anyone had ever been so frank with the young genius. Jess seemed to realize this too, because she started laughing and apologized,

"Sorry, Arty, I forget that you're not used to people speaking plainly, but I can't talk like that with a straight face. So you're going to have to get used to my horrible grammar and blunt tendencies. Now I _really_ need to talk to someone below ground. _Fast_."

Artemis recovered from his shock quickly,

"Of course, give me a moment to contact them."

"No need, Artemis, we heard the whole thing, just turn on the computer screen."

The teen genius scowled,

"Foaly? Have you been monitoring the manor again?"

The centaur laughed,

"No, but we felt it necessary to bug the manor until we found out more about these wizards."

Jess went behind the desk and turned on the computer, she grinned when she saw a centaur on the screen,

"You must be Foaly. You're not going to start spouting some nonsense about the stars saying something along the doom-and-gloom lines are you?"

Foaly laughed again, he could tell he was going to like the Mud Girl,

"You must be Jessica."

She made a face,

"Yes, but I must insist that you call me Jess. I really hate it when people call me 'Jessica' sounds like they're choking on something."

Foaly laughed again,

"Jess, then. So, Mud Girl, I hear the pixie twins are under your protection."

Jess's face hardened and her good mood ended abruptly,

"Yes, and I'll hex any LEP officer or anyone else who tries to arrest them." Her grin reappeared, "But no need to start threats so early on. We need to get on to the problem at hand anyway."

The fairies in the Operations Booth were baffled by the girl's mood swings. A Mud Boy came to stand behind Jess, laughing,

"Love, I think you're confusing them"

Jess smiled apologetically,

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm a weeee bit bipolar." She said, holding her thumb and forefinger an inch apart, showing her point. Artemis examined her,

"Do you take medication?"

Jess grimaced and shook her head,

"No, the Healers haven't invented a potion to suppress the effects of the disease yet and my parents refuse to take me to the doctors. It also doesn't help that I have ADHD as well. Do you know how awkward it is to have these awful mood-swings and not be able to focus on anything at the same time? I don't even know what sets me off half the time. Aaaaand we're off topic again. Back to Opal and Voldemort. I've got an idea, but I'll need some help and someone who's good at undercover work. Someone's going to have to go into Hogwarts with Artemis and… I think it should be Holly or Foaly."

"Why Holly or Foaly?"

She bit her lip and refused to answer, prompting the male to take over,

"Only an elf or a centaur would be able to successfully integrate into Hogwarts without raising suspicion. But the draw-backs to this plan would be Holly would have to work as a house elf or Foaly would have to learn to read the future from the stars. He would also have to live in the Forbidden Forrest with –"

"Firenze!" Jess interrupted, snapping her fingers as though she had just remembered something that had been eluding her for years. The Mud Boy gave her an odd look,

"What about him?"

"I said last night that Foaly would probably be the only friendly centaur on the planet, but when you mentioned the Forbidden Forrest, I remembered Firenze. I just wish the centaur had a sense of humor as well, but he's just as humorless as Artemis." She explained, pouting at the end of her sentence causing everyone, including Butler, to laugh uproariously while Artemis spluttered indignantly. She gave Artemis an apologetic look and Remus plugged his ears before she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. Remus winced and everyone stopped laughing. Jess hugged her boyfriend,

"Sorry, Moony, but I needed their attention. Go on with your explanation."

Remus laughed and put his arms around her,

"It's alright, love, but I'm thinking we need to get those earplugs you were telling me about. I have a feeling that you're going to be doing that a lot this summer."

Jess laughed and Foaly asked,

"Your name is Moony?"

Remus and Jess both laughed this time,

"No, that's just a nickname, my real name is Remus Lupin."

"As in the Greek king who built Rome with his twin brother Romulus, both having been raised by wolves?"

The two laughed again, delighted that someone had made the connection,

"That's where my mum got it."

"Why do they call you Moony?"

"Because I'm a werewolf. My friends Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, and Sirius Black are all unregistered animagi, wizards who can change into animals at will. If you tell anyone any of this I will hunt you down and kill you."

"And I'll help him. Remy, you need to restate the beginning of that second sentence and put Pete last. I know he's our friend and all, but… that guy gives me the creeps. He talks to Malfoy too much." She shuddered at the mention of the later and Remus growled menacingly. The others stared at them until Jess said,

"Right, tell them what's in the Forrest."

Remus suddenly looked very awkward,

"Just unicorns, centaurs, unfriendly werewolves… giant spiders." He added under his breath. Everyone but Jess, who was looking studiously at her feet, stared at him in shock,

"WHAT?" Foaly broke the silence. Jess grit her teeth,

"You should be fine as long as you don't go too far into the Forrest, just stay with the herd. And Artemis will be in no danger, seeing as I will _not_ be letting the boys drag him off on their _ridiculous_ adventures or involve him in any of their _stupid_ pranks. Am I understood Remus?"

Remus looked offended,

"Do I look like Padfoot or Prongs to you? It's usually those two who get _me_ in trouble, remember?"

Jess chuckled,

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, hon."

He rolled his eyes,

"We also need someone to get themselves hired at Opal's store and gather whatever information they can. We also need Holly and a few other officers up here at least twice a week."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to be shooting at Artemis."

"What?" Artemis asked, stunned. This caused the fairies to start laughing again, Butler, however, wasn't amused,

"Why are they shooting at Artemis?"

Jess rolled her eyes,

"They're not the only ones. We will be too. He needs to learn to defend himself. And Friday is the best day to start. We'll start off small and get to the good stuff later on. But, please, for the love of God, if you see James, Sirius, or the two of them with an uncomfortable -looking Remus walking out of a room laughing, ALL OF YOU run as fast as you can in the opposite direction because some of their pranks tend to take weeks to wear off. OK?"

Everyone nodded and Jess said,

"And Butler, don't try intimidating them."

"Why not?"

"Because, apparently the only person capable of doing that is Jess and her gift only works to a degree. She can't always control them, unfortunately." Remus answered. Jess snorted,

"I can't control them, just reign them in for like two point five seconds."

Remus snorted,

"That's longer than anyone else can claim."

She grinned, then stood on her toes to whisper loudly in his ear,

"I think they're afraid of me."

"They are." He said, laughing again. Her grin widened,

"Smart boys."

This made everyone laugh. Again. The fairies marveled at this girl's ability to make them all laugh and get along without going for each other's throats every five minutes. Especially Holly and Mulch, who was standing in the back of the room. Jess seemed to finally notice him, because she asked,

"Who's that short fella in the back?"

Holly snorted, they were all short. She pointed this out and Jess laughed,

"I'm aware of that Holly, but this one is dirty and reaching for your belt."

Holly rounded on the dwarf and saw that he was indeed reaching for her Neutrino. She glared at him,

"What are you doing, Mulch?"

Jess's face brightened,

"So he's the stinky dwarf? I didn't think dwarfs actually existed. I mean, I knew about fairies, gnomes, and centaurs. Knew about elves too. Only our fairies are even shorter than you guys and we usually use them as Christmas lights. I don't like them, they're always stealing my things. It's not funny – What was that noise?" she asked mid-sentence. Remus had heard it too; he sniffed the air and snarled. Jess frowned,

"What is it?"

"Slytherins." He growled. She rolled her eyes,

"They're not all bad you know."

Remus rolled his eyes and snorted,

"Pardon me if I don't suddenly believe that the Slytherins are friendly because you pulled a miracle. You're the only person outside of that House who bothers talking civilly to them."

"Gee," she said sarcastically, "maybe that's why they like me? Why don't you try it sometime, hon?"

He just glared at her and dropped his arms, drawing his wand and heading for the door. Jess beat him to it, her wand in her hand. She opened the door and darted out of the room, down the hall. Remus made a noise of frustration and followed after her. The fairies stared at the monitor in confusion. Finally, Foaly broke the silence,

"Artemis? What's going on?"

Artemis shook his head,

"I have no idea. However –" he was interrupted by a shout of,

"BASTARD!"

This was immediately followed by a loud crash. Butler followed the teens out of the room and Artemis followed his bodyguard. The sight that awaited him in his drawing room made him pause. Three men in masks were standing over Jess, who seemed to be writhing in pain, but she didn't make a sound. Remus was snarling, seemingly bound by invisible bonds, because he didn't look to be able to move. Butler shot at them and one of them fell to the ground. Jess stopped writhing while the remaining two turned on Butler. Jess was on her feet in seconds, snarling and firing spells before the intruders could react. She turned to Remus and waved her wand. He was by her side in an instant,

"Are you all right?"

She gave him a strained smile,

"I'm fine. Give me the dittany Pomfrey gave you this morning for my back."

His brow furrowed worriedly,

"Why?"

"I'm going to heal the one Butler shot before he dies. Pomfrey can give him a blood replenishing potion before he goes to Azkaban. If he does."

"You've got to be kidding me?" he asked incredulously. She narrowed her eyes on him,

"Remus Lupin, give me that potion. Now."

Reluctantly, he retrieved the potion from his robes and gave it to her. She snatched it from his hand and bent over the bleeding Death Eater. She cleaned his wound with her wand and removed the bullet from his shoulder, then poured a few drops on it and watched it heal. She gave the potion back to Remus and cleaned up the blood soaking the floor. She repaired the tear in the Death Eaters robes… then collapsed. Remus caught her before she hit the floor, growling angrily when he realized how light she was. He carried her over to the couch and shook her lightly,

"Jess? Love? Can you hear me?"

She chuckled weakly and looked up at him, it was then he noticed that she was panting in pain,

"I can hear you, baby. I'm fine. Just give me a minute to get over the effects of the curse."

Remus studied her for a moment, then bent down, kissed her briefly, and turned to Artemis saying,

"Stay with her until I get back."

He walked over to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, threw it in, and shouted,

"POTTER MANOR!"

The green flames engulfed him and he disappeared. Jess groaned softly and Artemis was suddenly hovering over her,

"Are you in any pain?"

Jess laughed at the question,

"Yes. But that's not the first time I've had the Cruciatus Curse used on me and I doubt it'll be the last."

"Cruciatus Curse?"

"One of the three Unforgivables. It's the torture curse. It feels God-awful and leaves the taste of your own blood in your mouth."

"Unforgivables?" he asked, choosing not to ask how she knew what her own blood tasted like. She gave him a grateful grin,

"Yeah. There are three: the Killing Curse, the Imperius Curse, and the one I just told you about. The Killing Curse is pretty self-explanatory, but the Imperius Curse, unless you have the will to fight it of course, lets you control people minds. You tell them to do something and they'll do it without question. It's kind of like the fairies' _mesmer_. But the pain's not why I was groaning."

"Then why?"

She grimaced,

"Because, he went to get James and Sirius. Then Sirius will tell Lily, who will tell Madam Pomfrey, who will tell Professor McGonagall, who will tell Professor Dumbledore. Then they'll all be worried unnecessarily and start questioning how I could withstand the Cruciatus without screaming. Then they'll start looking at home and that'll open up a whole can of worms I would rather keep closed. Just give me five more minutes and I'll be fine. I've had worse."

"Would you like to explain what you mean by that Miss Hawkins?"

"Nope. Hiya, Minnie. Fancy seeing you here." She said with an infuriating grin. McGonagall gave her a disapproving look, but no one missed the small, upward twitch of her lips,

"Miss Hawkins, you know you are to address me as Professor at all times. But as you have just been tortured, I'll allow it."

Jess's grin widened,

"Aw, c'mon Minnie, we're not even at school. Lighten up a little. Sirius, get off o' me, you weigh a ton!" she shrieked. Sirius had jumped on the couch and now the two were tangled in a mess of limbs. Sirius glared indignantly at her,

"I do not!"

"Get off, you dog!"

Sirius pouted and got off the couch,

"You is mean to your Padfoot."

"Well, I wouldn't be if he didn't jump on me when I'm still feeling the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse."

Sirius looked sheepish,

"Sorry, kitty cat."

She grinned crookedly at him,

"S'alright, Pads, just don't jump me right now. Kay?"

"Kitty cat?" Artemis asked incredulously. Jess chuckled,

"Sorry, Arty, but that's a secret. Maybe we'll tell you later. Why are you looking at me like that, Minnie?"

McGonagall had been looking at the girl in wonder, she shook her head and smiled. It was a strange sight,

"I'm just amazed, Miss Hawkins, that you can still tease your friends when you must be in excruciating pain."

Jess grimaced,

"I told you, I've been through worse. I'll live. And if you three say anything, I'll geld you. While you're awake. With no anesthetics."

The boys winced and James muttered,

"Fine, Hawkins, we'll keep our mouths shut. For now. We'll find a way to tell them eventually though."

She glared at him,

"Don't you dare. You kept Sirius's secret. Why can't you keep mine?"

"Because even if we had told someone, his parents would have just denied it. Besides, they didn't leave any evidence. Your dad does, and I've been in your house."

"Shut up, James! Just… please…." her voice broke and the boys stared at her in amazement, "Please…. Just leave it alone."

James sighed,

"Fine, I'll leave it. Just… don't start crying. Alright, kitty?"

She grinned at him,

"Okay. Thanks, Prongs. It's just one more summer, anyway. I'll be fine."

He looked doubtful, but let it drop. McGonagall seemed determined to find out what was going on,

"Miss Hawkins –" Jess interrupted her,

"Professor, please, just let it go. I'm fine, I'm not dead yet and I don't plan on dying anytime soon, so let's just get today over with so I can get something to eat. I'm starving. Being tortured makes me hungry for some reason, I don't know why. Hey, Padfoot, do you have any chocolate frogs on you?"

Sirius laughed and pulled the treat out of his pocket and held tantalizingly in front of her face, just out of reach,

"Watcha gonna give me for it, kitten?"

She made a face at him,

"Cruel you is Paddy, can't you just be nice and give me the yummy chocolate?"

He laughed again and shrugged,

"I suppose I can be nice, just this once."

He tossed her the chocolate and she squealed in delight,

"Thank you, Padfoot, you're the best!"

He laughed again,

"Just eat the chocolate, kitty."

So she did, Artemis watched the whole exchange with an air of bemusement. He turned to McGonagall,

"Do they always act like this?"

Remus laughed and answered for her,

"Yes. If it weren't for the fact that she's muggleborn and he's pureblood, I'd say they were twins."

Jess snorted,

"I wish. Sirius would make a loads better brother than mine. Pads! I've got an idea?"

"What?" Sirius asked, trying not to laugh. She grinned at him,

"Hows-about I move in with Prongs too and we disown both our families?" she asked excitedly. Sirius and James both laughed and James said,

"That's a great idea, my mum loves you as much as she does Sirius. She'd be thrilled to finally have a girl in the house."

"I'll bet." Jess muttered, causing the rest of the room to laugh, even Artemis chuckled. Then James said seriously,

"Maybe you _should_ move in with us, we'd have to explain to my mum, but she'll keep it a secret if you want."

Jess bit her lip,

"James, do you really think I should tell?" she asked hesitantly. He didn't even blink

"Absolutely."

"Okay. I'll tell. But not right now, okay? We've still got to teach Artemis today's lesson. I figured I could teach him the entire first year curriculum today. He's smart enough that one lesson would end in two minutes and we'd both be bored for the rest of the hour. I'm feeling better after the chocolate, so I'll see you guys in an hour and the three of you will help me tell Minnie. Okay?"

The boys nodded and Sirius said to McGonagall,

"Well, Professor, looks like it's time for us to go, see you in an hour."

James and Sirius led the stunned Professor to the fireplace and the three of them left, taking the unconscious Death Eaters with them. Artemis turned to Jess,

"Now will you please explain all that 'kitty' business?"

Jess laughed and was suddenly replaced by a small tabby cat. Butler stared at the cat,

"What the hell?"

Remus laughed and Jess became human again,

"I'm an animagus too, only I'm registered. My animagus form is a cat, so they call me kitty. Sirius is a dog, James is a stag, and Peter is a rat. Which I think is a little _too _fitting, but no one will listen to me." She grumbled. Remus glared at her,

"Would you lay off Wormtail?"

She looked up at him in surprise,

"I was never on him. Don't wanna be on him. That sounds extremely uncomfortable."

Remus groaned,

"Are you sure you're not related to Sirius?"

She laughed,

"Nope, still wishing."

Remus rolled his eyes,

"Right, I'm taking Butler and we're going to explain what happened to the fairies. You start on your lesson with Artemis. We'll leave you alone, but I won't be able to go with you, I've still got to teach him the lessons for first year Arithmacy and Astronomy."

Her face fell temporarily, but she hid her disappointment quickly.

"Okay. Just come meet us when you're done."

He walked over to the couch and kissed the top of her head,

"I will. And I won't tell them anything if you don't want me to."

She took a deep breath and shook her head,

"Not yet. I'll tell them when I'm ready. _If_ I'm ready."

He gave her a wane smile,

"You'll be fine, love. Come see me before you leave."

"Okay. See you in an hour."

He led Butler out of the room and Jess sat up. She grinned over at Artemis, who was standing awkwardly beside the couch,

"Pop a squat, Arty."

He gave her a puzzled look and she laughed,

"Have a seat. Learn to speak redneck, hon, it'll help you understand me better. Do you happen to have your book with you?"

"Of course."

She smiled as he went to the bookshelf and pulled a book down. He gave it to her and she opened to a random page,

"Tell me what you thought of the Goblins Wars."

"Rather text-book conventional to be perfectly honest."

She laughed, delighted,

"That, my friend, is because it is. They've left a lot of stuff out, including what the wizards did on their side. So, I went to Gringotts, asked a few questions, compiled information, and…" here she paused here and pulled what looked like a shrunken manuscript out of her pocket. She pulled out her wand and enlarged it, "wrote my own thesis. I've not showed it to anyone but Remus and Lily Evans. And now you. Oh, and Bulrog, he confirmed that this is pretty much what happened. The worst of both sides and the best. Imma go find something to eat, I'm still feeling a little drained. I'll be back in a few minutes." She handed him the thesis and got to her feet wincing. He opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, but she left before he could. Sighing, he sat back and began to read the thesis, instantly intrigued by her style of writing. It had her personality, her opinion, and actual facts of the battle. By the time Jess got back, he had finished it and was making notes, comparing it to the approved text book. Jess grinned at him,

"So, what do you think?"

He looked up at her, smiling briefly,

"It's brilliant. Though how you managed to put your personality into a thesis, I have no idea."

She laughed,

"Neither do I, I wasn't trying to, but Remus, Lily, and Bulrog said the same thing. But honestly, what do you think?"

The teen genius rolled his eyes,

"I told you what I think. But I would like to know why you haven't had this looked at by historians."

She smiled wanly,

"How many countries do you know who will publish something that puts them in a bad light? It's the same with wizards as it is with muggles. No one ever wants to do something that makes themselves look bad."

"Ah. The victor always vindicates himself."

"Exactly. Now, give me fifteen minutes and I'll be right back with your History of Magic first year exam. That was basically all we talked about first year. And second. And third. And fourth. And probably this year." She sighed, then grinned again, "But I concede. We wrote essays on everything else."

She went to the fireplace and Flooed to 'Dumbledore's Office'. Artemis went back to his notes.

Jess stepped out of the fireplace and, when her head stopped spinning, slurred,

"Gah, I'm gonna ralph."

"Please don't do so on my floor Miss Hawkins."

She grinned at the headmaster,

"Hullo, Professor. I won't, just give me a minute to settle my stomach."

When her lunch finally stopped trying to escape, she said,

"I need Artemis's History of Magic exam for first year."

The headmaster's eyebrows rose,

"Already?"

She laughed,

"I told you he was smart. He also shares my dislike of the text book. Thinks it's too conventional."

Dumbledore chuckled,

"Quite. Did you show him the thesis you wrote?"

She studied her teacher for a moment before declaring,

"You know everything."

Another chuckled from the headmaster,

"Not quite, just friendly with the Gringotts goblins. One in particular."

"Bulrog told you then?"

"Yes."

She grinned,

"Maybe I'll let you read it sometime, if you like."

"Sounds intriguing. But that's not why you're here. I'll be right back with the test, Miss Hawkins."

"Thank you, Headmaster. Imma sit down, not feelin so great right now."

"I would think not. You'll be explaining after Mr. Fowl has taken his test, what has been going on in your home. Am I correct?"

She blushed,

"Yes sir."

Jess squirmed under the x-ray like gaze of her headmaster. She slumped against her chair in relief when the man turned away and walked into different part of the office. Two minutes later, he was back. He handed her the exam. She gave him a strained smile, took the parchment, and left.

As soon as Artemis finished the test, Jess snatched it from him and went to the study, where Remus and Butler were discussing defense lessons for Artemis. She walked over to her boyfriend and slipped her arms around his waist from behind. He turned and chuckled when he saw her,

"Done already?"

"Yes, and I'm sure he'll be beating Lily's score on this exam. And mine."

He laughed and she stretched to place a chaste kiss on his cheek,

"I'll see you later. I've gotta go face the music."

The humor fled his face and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She smiled and stepped away from him. On her way out the door, she called over her shoulder,

"Have fun, Butler, teaching Artemis to defend himself."

Butler groaned as he realized the task ahead of him and that the girl's friends would probably make it more difficult.


	4. Chapter 4: Training and Plots

"Why haven't you told anyone about this?" McGonagall demanded. She, Jessica, James, and Sirius were sitting with Professor Dumbledore in his office. Jess shrugged,

"They told me not to."

McGonagall stared at her,

"So you decided not to tell us."

She rolled her eyes,

"They'd been doing it for six years. I worshipped the ground they walked on and hated them at the same time. They gave me orders and I followed them."

"And last night?" Dumbledore questioned. She grimaced,

"I was using more magic, so he punished me. He allowed me to heal myself this time so that he could get a week's worth of beatings in twelve hours."

"And you didn't feel this was worth mentioning?"

She sighed,

"It's not that simple, Professor. The only reason this lot found out is that I made the mistake of running away at the end of first year. I went to James' house bleeding worse than I ever have in my entire life. That's when I got the blood all over his couch. He told Sirius, who told Remus, who told Peter. I made them swear to keep their gobs shut."

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't supposed to tell. I've got nowhere else to go, and it's not like I can really just _leave_."

"We could have found a place for you. I'm sure Mrs. Potter would be more than happy to have you live with them."

James jumped into the conversation now,

"She would. I told her what was going on and she's actually demanding it. She says she won't allow her to go back to her parents."

Jess blushed at this, immediately beginning to object,

"I –" he cut her off before she could get out more than that,

"Don't, Jess. Mum says that if you don't come live with us she'll kidnap you."

She laughed,

"Then I guess she wins the battle before it starts, huh?"

He snorted,

"Mum always wins, you can't fight with her."

Dumbledore smiled,

"Then it's settled. You'll move in with the Potters immediately. I'll be contacting the muggle police to inform them of what has been going on. Miss Hawkins, I don't mean to pry, but, do you have any scars?"

She sighed again and stood, turning around and pulling up her shirt, showing them her back. Angry red lines overlapped each other from her latest beating as well as older wounds. Dark, smooth flesh that had healed over time. She dropped her shirt and sat back down,

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes." Dumbledore answered quietly.

"It gets worse, doesn't it?" Sirius croaked. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. They all sat in an awkward silence for a moment, then got to their feet, and left

A month had passed since Jess's secret had been told, and teaching Artemis defense seemed to be more difficult than she had thought. The boy was brilliant at spell casting and written work. Unfortunately, he had very little experience with combat. She sighed as he tripped over his Armani loafers. Again.

"No, no, no! Here, watch me again. Next time, take off those damn shoes and get some for this exercise!" she growled. She took her wand from her boot and looked at Sirius, "Same spells, nonverbal."

He nodded and she went to the beginning of the obstacle course. The second she started running, Sirius began firing jinx after hex at her. She dodged, weaved, ducked, ran, and did a few cartwheels to avoid the onslaught. She finally finished the course with a back flip to avoid being hit with a jelly-legs jinx. She turned to Artemis and grinned,

"Now, I don't expect you to be able to do the cartwheels or the back flip, but the rest of it you are expected to be able to do to pass a basic P.E. course. And if you can't do that, you've found what you're going to be doing until September 1st, given that you've passed all your exams except the O.W.L.s and we don't take those until the end of this year. Now, try it again, Arty. If you don't get it this time, we'll take a break for lunch, then we start back at it. Alright?"

Artemis sighed and nodded, going back to the beginning. Jess went to stand beside Butler and shook her head,

"This is going to take some time. Artemis, don't forget about the cacti!"

He nodded, but didn't bother responding. She nodded approvingly,

"He's learning. Now we just have to get him into some regular clothes and a pair of shoes that won't get him killed."

Butler nodded, fighting a smile. Her eyes narrowed suddenly and she nudged him, pointing in the direction of the horse stables,

"There's something or someone over there."

The bodyguard's eyes fixated on the spot she was pointing at, he reached for his Sig Sauer, then grinned and put it back,

"It's just Holly."

Jess groaned and called,

"Get your butts over here and loose the shield, next time I might curse first and ask questions later!"

The fairies laughed as they became visible. Jess glared and threw a clump of dirt at them, causing them to laugh harder. She grinned wickedly and fired her wand above their heads, effectively shutting them up. She frowned and put it back in her boot,

"Guys, sneaking up on me could mean that you don't see tomorrow. Don't do that again. Sneaking up on me is about the same as sneaking up on Butler." The fairies paled, "See? Sneaking up on me is a stupid idea. Padfoot, you're supposed to be trying to hex Artemis, not me."

Sirius chuckled,

"I stunned him five minutes ago."

She sighed,

"Go revive him, it's time for lunch."

She went in the house and proceeded to go in the house and cook lunch. Butler shook his head and went to retrieve Master Artemis.

"Well, My _Lord_," Opal Kaboi spat contemptuously, "It appears we have run into a problem."

"What kind of _problem_?" Voldemort asked dangerously. Opal sneered at him,

"They're on to us. Your little 'mudblood' is now training the Fowl boy in defense and formulating a plan against us with Dumbledore and the LEP. She's more intelligent than you gave her credit for."

"Evans?"

Opal shook her head in disgust.

"No, _Hawkins_. Evans only does as her friend instructs her, though she is no idiot either. We need to be more careful. No more Death Eater around my shop. That's what raised their suspicions. If you can _turn_ the girl however, she could be useful." She suggested pointedly. Voldemort shook his head,

"No. If my sources are correct, and I have no doubt that they are, she cannot be swayed to our cause. She's too loyal."

"Then we'll have to destroy her."

Voldemort nodded slowly.

"Yes. We'll have to kill the girl. The question is…. How?"

Jess ran down the alley, looking for some sort of escape. She could hear the bitch still yelling. If she got out of this alive, she was going to kill Artemis. Next time the bloody rich kid could do his own shopping. She didn't give a shit if it _was_ a mundane thing to do. She bit back a curse when she realized that she was surrounded. Fuck. Looked like she was going to have to fight her way out. She took out her wand and looked at her pursuers. They were all wearing masks. One of them fired a curse at her head and she dodged it. The dual began. It didn't last long however. She was tired and outnumbered. Not to mention inexperienced. One of their spells hit her square in the chest. She felt a stabbing pain and knew no more.


	5. Hiatus!

**This story is NOT abandoned, it's just on indefinite HIATUS until I get new inspiration. Right now I'm focusing on my stories **_**Kathryn and Selene**_**, **_**Running to Forks**_**, and **_**Prongslet and Prongsette**_**.**

**~ Cajun Mistress**


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